Month: January 2007

DIY Nikon D70 Infra-red Remote Control

This is just the thing you need to have in your camera bag. I have one that I bought online but if your not in a rush and have the skills to solder this would be a clever little device to have around. Very handy for tripping the shutter when your doing macro work or your doing long exposures where camera vibration is a bad thing.

This is a replacement for the sparsely available Nikon ML-L1 and ML-L3 IR remote controls. Like the original remotes, this very simple circuit allows you to remotely release the D70 shutter or do a bulb exposure while avoiding camera shake. It should also work with other Nikon (d)SLR’s, provided they are supported by the ML-L1 or ML-L3. The IR sensor of the D70 is behind the round black plastic spot above the D70 logo on the body.

[via steve]
Nikon D70 infra-red remote control

DIY Analog Video Synth

Who says that you can only circuit bend audio devices?

Video synthesis tends to be dominated by digital technology these days however analogue video synthesis techniques can still offer a great many advantages in terms of aesthetics, performance, simplicity, and adaptability. Not to mention the non-linear surprises which can come from working in the analogue domain. This "VGA Expropriator" will be the first in a series of proprietary analogue hardware devices which seek to explore the possibilities of digital/analogue hybrid technology in video/audio performance and studio production contexts. The first offering here is essentially a new design with its creative process making ample use of circuit-bending methodologies.

[via Retro Thing]

VS001 – VGA Expropriator Analogue Video Synthesizer

Sensorama: Virtual Reality from 1962

Sensorama Who says that virtual reality is anything new? Inventor and cinematographer Morton Heilig had a firm grip on it back on the early 60’s:

(Sensorama was) an immersive 3-D virtual reality motorbike ride, in a form factor resembling an arcade game. Heilig saw Sensorama as the future of cinema, an immersive experience, complete with nine different fans to simulate the wind blowing on the user’s face, vibrating seat (to simulate driving over cobblestones), and the aromas of jasmine and hibiscus as the driver passed a flower garden, or the smell of baking pizza as one passed by an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. (Rheingold, 1991) It never received the funding necessary to scale up to commercial production, and quietly disappeared, although Heilig persisted, patenting improvements over the next decade.

[viaNeatorama]

Morton Heilig’s Sensorama

The IT Crowd

The IT Crowd

The funniest thing I’ve seen on TV in a while has got to be the British comedy The IT Crowd. If you have ever had to work in a computer department or had to deal with computer people this show hits very close to home. Season one is avaliable  from Amazon UK and I understand that season two is on the way, I can’t wait!

What Wikipedia says about the IT Crowd

The IT Crowd – UK Comedy Series

Channel4 – The IT Crowd Official Site

Grimace, Evil Mastermind of McDonaldland

I knew I wasn’t crazy! I remember Grimace being a thief AND having two sets of arms! In the commercials of the very early 70’s, he would steel the milkshakes from various inhabitants of McDonaldland and then get caught by Ronald or Officer BigMac. This must prove that either the criminal system works or that he was subject to some volunteer medical program, because he’s fully reformed. Heck, he’s Ronald’s right hand man these days.
[via neatorama]
The Pop Culture Addict presents… Miscellaneous

‘Remind Me’ Video on YouTube By Roysopp

Good song, if you have a TV you have listed to is as background on at least one car insurance advert. The band is called ‘Roysopp‘ and are out of Bergen Norway (more info here) and have quite a nice sound, same style as ‘The Postal Service‘. The infographics on the video are very cool, it’s very much how I think of the world sometime when I walk around.

[via ektopia]
YouTube – Royksopp – Remind Me